TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie took to the gazebo ramp in Belmar today to scattered cheers and jeers from a town hall crowd that wanted to talk about pensions, medical marijuana, and fracking waste.

Hundreds assembled for the governor’s appearance that was billed as a shore town hall discussion on pension reform as part of the “no pain, no gain” summer series. But instead, Christie began with a brief talk about bail reform.

“It’s extraordinarily important,” said Christie, a day before lawmakers will return to the Statehouse for a special session he called to take up the issue.

“This is a really important issue and one that we’re going to have to resolve, and one that I hope we will resolve this week,” he said.

But for those who gathered, many in protest of the governor, bail reform was the last thing on there minds.

It wasn’t before long Christie was quizzed on pensions, medical marijuana, and a bill sitting on his desk that would ban hydraulic fracturing waste from coming to New Jersey.

Christie was wild mannered and took each question in stride, taking the time to engage anyone who clearly opposed his policies, including a 10 minute dialogue with a retired teacher worried about her pension.

“Let me ask you a question, what do you want me to do?” Christie bluntly asked Jean Toher, of Asbury Park, after the pair went back and forth about pension reform.

Toher expressed her worries about the details of Christie’s pension reform plan he promised to unveil by the end of the summer.

“Make sure that we get those benefits that we were promised,” Toher told the governor.

“I cannot make the assurance to every person that’s in the system that they will get the benefits that they were promised,” Christie said. “Folks want to believe that just because they gave them some happy talk that the problem didn’t exist, but the problem did exist.”

It wasn’t the first time Christie declared “someone is going to have to deal” with the state’s pensions. And it won’t be the last.

The governor is using the summer town hall circuit to lead up to his unveiling of a plan that could recommend workers increase their contributions, slash health care benefits or again raise the retirement age for public employees.

But unlike most of Christie’s town hall events — which are accustomed to having their fair share of protesters — this event included a healthy number of Christie critics.

“He’s saying no pain, but he’s yet to ask the millionaires for anything,” said Jim Huebner, of the Freehold Regional Education Association

Huebner was one of many holding signs that played off Christie’s summer series name, reading, “Our pain, Christie’s gain.”

But the governor took the time to respond to those who asked questions about their pensions during the event, as well as after it concluded along the rope line on the way to his SUV.

Carol Lerar, who retired last year working at a school in Mercer County for 26 years, asked the governor about the future of her health benefits and whether they would remained untouched.

“I can’t promise that,” Christie responded as the two chatted among a hoard of attendees, Lerar recalled.

The retiree said she’s been looking to move out of the state for fears she may not be able to afford the cost of living in New Jersey.

“I would have loved for Gov. Christie to follow me for a day and see how hard we worked,” she said.